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Dark Tower
The Dark Tower was a science tower located on Der Erebolten. It was forcibly turned into the residency of Xerin Hedashield, who led the Third Order from within its walls. Eventually, Hedashield sacrificed the Dark Tower in order to obtain the Power of Vato. History Construction At some point in or around 268 BBY, a science tower was constructed on a remote planet called Der Erebolten. Third Order headquarters Eventually, Xerin Hedashield located it and decided it would suffice for the headquarters of the Third Order, an organization determined to bring glory to the galaxy through her own rule. Safe in the science tower, Xerin began making her lifelong dream a reality, starting by recruiting individuals in high places, who in turn helped her recruit many officers, nobles and technologists, who all fled with her to Del Erebolten. Most of her soon-to-be followers would have likely perished while crossing this uncharted realm if it had not been for the ancient hyperspace trails blazed by a retinue of mute alien navigators that believed Hedashield's views were right and superior to those of the current Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. Together, these rogues based on Del Erebolten and served Darth Mutialatus, who acted on Hedashield's orders thus creating the Third Order. While Mutialatus gave most of the orders and generally appeared to be in charge, Hedashield closely monitored him, telling him what to do and what orders to give, and essentially becoming the Supreme Leader of her organization. Xerin, however, still attended high school while presumably operating the Third Order on the side. She had spent less than a week in the tower when the robots finished building her consumption speeder. Xerin drove it to the store, where it sucked out all the candy and soda and they stacked themselves neatly on the shelves inside the speeder's giant box. She drove home, undetected, as everyone in the store ran amok, having no idea what had happened. On Del Erebolten, the box implanted itself into the wall, effectively becoming her food shelf. After school, Hedashield returned to her headquarters, lying low while Darth Mutialatus traveled around the galaxy. Both Supreme Leader and Dark Lord explored the Dark side of the Force extensively, studying obscure and arcane Force concepts, and consorting with terrorists who agreed to join the Third Order. Both Hedashield and Mutialatus were occasionally accompanied by two separate groups of followers. On Hedashield's orders, Mutialatus began establishing relations with various kinds of scum in the criminal underworld, and Dark activity throughout the galaxy rose. Despite actively collecting followers and finding her life to be quite enjoyable, Hedashield distrusted her newfound allies and remained secluded within the walls of her headquarters and rarely left except on special errands. This was mainly because she was aware that no one in the Third Order was genuinely loyal to her as a person, instead turning their loyalty entirely to the cause itself, making her think they could care less about what happened to her. She always kept an illegally modified blaster under her pillow on her bed. Eventually, Xerin Hedashield ordered the assassination of Saint Pyro. In the mix, she began seeking out an apprentice for Darth Mutialatus, taking a particular interest in a small Twi'lek boy named Thomas Slovak, though she accepted the fact that the choice was entirely up to Mutialatus. Hedashield also arranged a secret meeting with sixteen-year-old Cole. The following morning, Cole found her typing and eating in her private chamber, and the two spoke with each other. Discovery of a Pearian In 240 BBY, Xerin Hedashield learned that a Pearian had appeared on Coruscant. She learned that the Pearian, whose name was Kristen, was being accompanied by a Jedi Padawan named B'en'jamin Thorrn, and she sent Yaxa and fellow Grabber Marion to capture the children and bring them unharmed to the Dark Tower to be questioned by Darth Mutialatus. Upon learning of their failure from Mutialatus via comlink, Hedashield ruthlessly arranged for their private execution by General Gore. Somehow, she acquired an exotic marble owned by Jedi Master Yoda and entrusted to a Jedi Knight. Owning the marble confirmed that Kristen and Thorrn were to follow the individual. Immediately after the Grabbers' deaths, Xerin Hedashield took off in her personal speeder to seek out Kristen and B'en'jamin Thorrn herself, bringing them to the Dark Tower and pretending it was an apartment. Hedashield brought Thorrn upstairs with her, wishing to speak with them separately in order to give them information they would find incredibly useful whilst cleverly withholding the essentials. When they entered her bedroom, Hedashield changed into her bedclothes and offered Thorrn a snack, before questioning his knowledge of the prophecy of the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force. Hedashield also revealed that she knew how Kristen appeared in the Star Wars galaxy, something she claimed he did not yet need to know. Xerin then interrogated B'en, wanting to know about the Chosen One who was allegedly destined to bring balance to the Force. B'en, however, did not find this likely, though Xerin thought otherwise, she could find no backup to this claim, so she dropped the subject and they prepared to leave. They returned to the playplace and Xerin picked up Kristen, dropping B'en off. In her room, she realized that Kristen was incredibly curious, so Hedashield spoke to her fluently to explain everything she wanted to know in a levelheaded way. Kristen learned that a failed experiment of St. Pyro's Center for Militarized Sciences intending to learn how to travel outside the galaxy has resulted in her abduction. Hedashield pointed out that the leader of the laboratory beckoned her several times. She chided Kristen for not answering, who shrugged her off by asking what Pearians were. When Xerin claimed it was a great mystery, Kristen asked how to return to Earth. Xerin told her to seek out the mysterious and all-powerful Omnipotent One. Intrigued by both of the children, Hedashield followed them downstairs and offered them the opportunity to spend the night with her. Both of them obliged. Thorrn seemed to bond with Hedashield during this time, and when daylight came, Hedashield allowed the children to borrow a speeder and gave them advice on how best to get offworld again. Thorrn begged Hedashield to come with them, but she returned upstairs. Captain Cole came to visit her afterwards, and after two two-liter bottles of root beer and six small Gove candies, she told him to ensure the children got offworld and told him she intended to use Darth Mutialatus to lure them back to Der Erobelten. However, Cole's lack of interest raised her suspicions that he may be planning to betray her. Skirmish and escape A couple days later, Darth Mutialatus spoke with Hedashield, and they agreed that two Grabbers would not be enough to try again. Concurrently, Mutialatus dispatched ten Grabbers to capture the children on Geonosis. Their mission was a success, but the children fought their way out of their bonds and through the fortress, impressing Hedashield, who was watching them via security camera, with their fighting prowess. Shortly afterwards, she was approached by Captain Cole, who had brought the two children to mask his disenchantment and plan to betray and murder her. Hedashield responded by projecting a shield between herself and her enemies. As if out of nowhere, Darth Mutialatus appeared and killed Captain Cole. Shocked and overcome by agonizing pain, Cole falls to the ground in front of Hedashield. Infuriated that Hedashield was not any less indifferent regarding Cole's unexpected demise, Thorrn challenged her to a duel. In response, Xerin reached under her pillow and grabbed a blaster concealed under it. Standing up, she prepared to incapacitate Thorrn, as the last thing she wanted was to kill him. Suddenly, Cole used his powers to teleport the children away from the apartment and to safety, Hedashield could only watch as they twisted out the window. As Cole's life ebbed away, Hedashield seethed with fury at the loss of two valuable assets to her plans as well as her Captain. Just then, General Gore arrived in the room. Hedashield quietly expressed her doubt that B'en'jamin Thorrn is the Chosen One. Disappointed in Mutialatus for failing to stop Cole or foresee the latter's intent, Hedashield resolved to punish him soundly when she was no longer exhausted and when the two were alone. Hedashield decided that soon, she would risk coming out of the shadows to lead the Third Order, which was now public knowledge, to victory. However, the knowledge that this meant she could hire more able soldiers without fear of exposure or disloyalty comforted her. She took this chance to tell the Dark Lord of her Holonet campaign to find him an apprentice. She arranged to work alongside Mutialatus, an extension of her plan to expose herself before the Dark forces. His back turned, Mutialatus claimed that the Third Order was ready to prove to the Jedi Order that they existed. Xerin contradicted him, assuring him that the time to expose their conquest is not far away at all. In spite of her disappointment at this turn of events, Hedashield hopefully awaited the day that Thorrn would be claimed. Beginning of warfare With the Third Order struggling to keep their actions silent from the peering eyes of the Jedi Order, Xerin Hedashield ordered the initiation of several casualties. Fed up with the failures of her followers, Hedashield had finally grown tired of the lack of progress in her crusade and decided to take matters into her own hands. Hedashield also put her life on the line for a creature known only as "the Captain", unintentionally procuring his loyalty. The Captain ultimately replaced Captain Cole in the ranks of the Third Order. War had come to the galaxy. Before she tortured Mutialatus for failing her, she decided to preserve his trust and energy long enough to send him to Alderaan. Upon learning of his return, Xerin Hedashield demanded Darth Mutialatus' presence by contacting him by using the Force to animate a rock, furiously telling him to come see her in person. When he arrived, Hedashield expressed her confidence in Mutialatus. But in light of her apprentice's failure at the hands of two children, coupled with the murder of Captain Cole, Hedashield's faith in Mutialatus' power began to waver. She proceeded to chastise him, calling him "weak and shallow of mind". Enraged, Mutialatus threatened to kill Hedashield, but she quickly knocked him unconscious with a blast of Force lightning that caused him to roll around on the floor in agony. He was carted out by Lieutenant Juliah. B'en'jamin Thorrn's visit Knowing that Kristen would return to the Jedi Temple in an effort to save the Jedi Order, Hedashield ordered Darth Mutialatus to send their forces to the planet where they would end the war and Yoda's ancient religion for good. Determined to fulfill her oath in the upcoming battle for the galaxy. Eventually, B'en'jamin Thorrn decided to ask Hedashield for a rank in the Third Order, as he intended to glean useful information from her. When Hedashield encountered Thorrn in a chamber (after being discovered by Hedashield's men as an eavesdropper and forced into their electrochair for interrogation), he pretended to swear allegiance to the Third Order, saying he had come to request a chance to move against the Jedi. Hedashield doubted he was being sincere, and while she could tell he was conflicted about his feelings for her, she thought she could gleam useful information about the Jedi Order from him and effectively became the interrogator herself, not the interrogated. The two had a civil conversation where Thorrn told her the Jedi were finally ready to counter against a full-on siege. Knowing that Kristen would return to the Jedi Temple in an effort to save the Jedi Order, Hedashield ordered Darth Mutialatus to send their forces to the planet where they would end the war and Yoda's ancient religion for good. Determined to fulfill her oath in the upcoming battle for the galaxy, Hedashield told Thorrn to accompany her in her private speeder. The Third Order won the ensuing battle and Thorrn returned to the Dark Tower with Hedashield to begin a rigorous daily routine. Having devastated the Jedi, Hedashield gazed out the window and smiled satisfactorily, content at her victory but still regretting the fact that the Third Order may never have Kristen. Into her own hands Later, the Captain reported that Kristen and her new company had escaped. Gasping, Hedashield told the Captain to approach her, causing him to look at her with dread, until Thorrn told him to leave. Hedashield told the Captain to seek out reinforcements. Tired of isolating herself from galactic affairs, and with victory all but assured for the Third Order, she decided to personally hunt down Kristen herself. Consequentially, she went with Thorrn and Darth Mutialatus and together they liberated Vato. Shortly afterwards, Mutialatus went to a flashback where he was speaking to Hedashield. There, Hedashield told Mutialatus her forces were growing impatient, something he dismissed, though he questioned Vato's formidability. Destruction Hedashield then awakened with the Power of Vato flowing through her veins. Appearances *''Across the Portal: Interference'' *''Across the Portal: Insurgence'' *''Across the Portal: Intuition'' Category:Across the Portal locations Category:Buildings Category:Homes Category:Villains' residences